310DA throttle/v-drive problem

[freeflight2]

This afternoon our 2000 310DA with V-Drives gave us some trouble on the starboard side. As we throttled up to cruising speed the starboard engine RPM maxed out at 3000rpm before the boat even came up on plane. We could advance both throttles, and the port side would continue to increase the rpms, but the starboard side would stay between 2800-3000 rpm no matter how far forward we pushed the throttle. We throttled back and shifted to nuetral, and both engines would throttle up just fine to 4000-5000rpm. When we put it back in gear and tried to slowly throttle both back up, the starboard wouldn't go any higher than 3000rpm. The boat still couldn't get on plane and our max speed was about 10 knots. We had the nose trimmed fully down but it still would get on plane. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[Alex F]

How's your running gear on the strbrd side?
Do you feel any extra vibration from the strbrd side?

I hope the the prop is not damaged, but it's possible you wrapped something on the prop or the shaft.

 

[freeflight2]

I'll check that out, probably getting wet to do so. Didn't notice any vibration and both engines ran well at idle speeds in the harbor. We did run the starboard only in forward gear and still couldn't get the rpms past 3000.

 

[blueeyeboatr]

Look into a fuel filer problem, even thou you rev to 4000-5000 in neutral NO LOAD!!!
Sounds like a fuel issue

 

[Alex F]

Hmm, whouldn't a fuel problem affect engine performance without any load? I think that if there's a fuel delivery issue, the engine wouldn't get to 4000-5000RPMs while trany is not engaged.

I would first check the running gear and then move on to the engine. However, my comments are based on the assumption that all basic maintenance are done.

As for running gear, I would check (with engines OFF) how the props are spinning. This is just to make sure that the strut allignment is ok on the stbrd side. So, just make sure that both props spin with the same effort. My point is, if you hit something and bent the strut, it's now tightened the shaft and prevent from normal operation.

If all running gear is in order, then of course you have to diagnose the engine.

 

[hack4alivin]

I had the very same problem at the beginning of last season; starboard engine would not go above 3000 RPM’s while we were coming home from a weekend trip. Engine ran fine on the way up, but on the return trip this happened just as we left the marina. It turned out to be the high pressure fuel pump, the second stage (high pressure) was bad. The entire fuel pump was replaced, which for me was a warranty issue.

 

[Alex F]

Bill,

That's very goot tip for OP, but do you think 2000 engines would have the same fuel delivery system as your 2006?

 

[hack4alivin]

Bill,

That's very goot tip for OP, but do you think 2000 engines would have the same fuel delivery system as your 2006?

Mostly likely not, I did think about that before I posted, But the problem was fuel delivery related. I don’t know what type of fuel pump is used on the 2000 modules.

 

[mwph]

Man, I never get tired of looking at that boat.

 

[Alex F]

Mostly likely not, I did think about that before I posted, But the problem was fuel delivery related. I don’t know what type of fuel pump is used on the 2000 modules.

I keep noticing that with more modern and complicated engines having all these fency bells and whistles it's gets harder and harder for DIY troubleshooting.

I wonder if the OP has the engine manual to know for sure. But, then what's the course of action, start swapping stuff from the other engine to avoid spending $$$ for parts that might be functional (e.i. hight pressure fuel pump)? It still might be a better option as it could cost in the range of $600 by having MM fix it without warranty.

 

[freeflight2]

I keep noticing that with more modern and complicated engines having all these fency bells and whistles it's gets harder and harder for DIY troubleshooting.

I wonder if the OP has the engine manual to know for sure. But, then what's the course of action, start swapping stuff from the other engine to avoid spending $$$ for parts that might be functional (e.i. hight pressure fuel pump)? It still might be a better option as it could cost in the range of $600 by having MM fix it without warranty.

Got under the boat today and both props spin freely with no fouling of props or shaft. Suppose it could be a fuel supply issue under load. At 3000 rpm, advancing the throttle doesn't continue to increase the rpm when in gear.

 

[freeflight2]

I had the very same problem at the beginning of last season; starboard engine would not go above 3000 RPM’s while we were coming home from a weekend trip. Engine ran fine on the way up, but on the return trip this happened just as we left the marina. It turned out to be the high pressure fuel pump, the second stage (high pressure) was bad. The entire fuel pump was replaced, which for me was a warranty issue.

Got under the boat today and both props spin freely with no fouling of props or shaft. Suppose it could be a fuel supply issue under load. At 3000 rpm, advancing the throttle doesn't continue to increase the rpm when in gear.

 

[skolbe]

A friend had a similar issue - he had a blown head gasket.